Dog dilemas

My lad wants a puppy. I'd love a dog, the missus wouldnt mind one either.
Problem is, we both work (lad is at school). It would mean the dog stays at home all day. Is this frowned upon amongst dog owners? I assume some dogs are better suited than others. Do you keep a dog litter tray or can they be trained to keep it in?
A mate of mine has a Springer/Collie cross, its great. It comes out with us on our rides and I've seen an improvement in its trail running skills He used to get close up to the riders, now he waits for you all to set off before follow from behind. It seems pretty intelligent. I'd like one of these

We have a Working Cocker, both of us work all day, but im able to get back at lunch to let him out/walk him. He is crated when we're not there, and at night, and has been a total joy.

Wish we had done this sooner.

We did look at rehoming, but there was nothing suitable we liked, but had the home check done anywayjust in case.
The lady that came and did the home check worked for our local rescue centre, and said she couldn't reccomend us to rehome a dog because we both worked. She also said that most of the people that worked there full time had rescued dogs themselves, and that these were left at home all day, walked at lunchtimes, with no problems at all?

Looking hopeful then. Although I'm busy every lunch and the missus works too far from home to pop back..

sooo much piss and pooo

! Our saving grace is that we have a conservatory with tiles floor that he/she can shat away in. Once grownup a bit and house trained, I'll let it have roam of the house (trained to downstairs only - and not on sofa!)

at the OP - i wouldn't consider it in your position, sorry. it's one thing with a known quantity of dog if circumstances change unavoidably, but going in to dog ownership intending to leave them alone all day isn't really on, IMHO.
and a Springer/Collie cross? f*** no. great dogs under the right circumstances. you don't have them. unless the cross is an exceedingly lucky one, or you're prepared to do agility or something a couple of nights a week, you'll end up with an over-active, bored dog that'll rip your house to shreds.
just my 2P. do what you will with it. please don't be offended.

I think I potentially have to agree with Del here, when we got Ziva I only ever worked til lunch so had the time to walk her and for her needs etc and for the last month and a bit I now have to work full time and if I was only just considering getting her I'd never do it. The amount of work right from the beginning is a lot, assuming you want to do the job well that is, taking the time when walking to insure we didnt get any distance without pulling and not chewing the place to bits. She now walks sensationally and never EVER pulls and hasn't once chewed something she wasn't allowed to. Even having said that I now have to get up 2 hours before my routine needs to start in order to walk her for 5 miles and when I get home no matter the conditions and how dark it is back out we go again! The problem or solution really is to rescue a dog thats not super young therefore needing the training time yet one who is already set in the routine of the fact its new owners are going to be gone for the vast majority of the day. I mean also the other thing to consider is your weekends. If you think well they have a super boring weekend do you and your family actually have te time and inclination to put that time and effort in at the weekend to make the dogs life enjoyable. Otherwise it seems to be only yourselves who is winning out of the situation.

Not to say this is the bee all and end all, we all know dogs who do it and do it well but I also walk past all the shitty dogs every day whose owners clearly arent doing what they should be doing. Do we want to take the chance on the fact you fall on a dog who is small percentage that can adapt or risk another dog ending up in a rescue because it didnt want to be abadoned for half its life. If Ziva wasn't who she was and how she behvaed being so totally chilled I'd of never gone to full time and would of found something else instead.

Our dog gets left from about 7:30 to 5 three days a week. Not in the house though she's in the back garden where she has a kennel. She's happy enough as long as she gets walked twice a day. She is a lurcher though and as such happy to sleep for 22 hours a day.

Get a dog walker!
Were in the same position, we've got a 1 yr old springer. She gets about 40 minute run in the morning. Dog walker comes in and walks here Monday to Thursday lunch times then gets a quick walk n the evening - problem solved.

Would advise against a springer / collie both very active dogs and often destroy things when bored.

1 good tip a mate who's a dog trainer gave us - indoors is a clam place - outdoors is a go bonkers place!

hes a great house dog, he has a walk at 6.30 in morn, I used to always come home at lucnh to let him out, as hes got older he would be asleep, Id have to wake him up to get him outside at lunch, he looked at me as if I was bothering him !!

some days hes inside from 7am till 5pm, happy as larry, some days I take him to work, where he will lie down in my studio for 6-7 hrs straight mostly sleeping, sometimes sneaking a look at whats going off, then sleeping again

he doesnt like going out int he rain either - his hi score to date is 1.5 days not going out, breeder said they often do that, esp the males, save it up for one long pis s when they are ready !

My folks have 2 springer/collies. Intelligent dogs that require a lot of stimulation and attention and exercise. They are really not dogs to leave alone for any sizeable amount of time. They will become frustrated, anxious and depressed and your house will pay the price for it, as will your own stress levels.

Personally I don't think it's at all fair to have a dog of any sort when you know you are going to be leaving it at home alone all week. My wife and I wanted a dog for years but we both worked full time so we didn't get one - life's unfair. I work from home now so we have a Westie. Dogs like to be around people, they like company and dogs like springer/collies really need attention and stimulation. I'd give it some more thought if I were you.

As above, two labs left all day but they get a walk in the morning, are in a kennel with run during day and the dog walker comes at lunch time and gives them another hours walk. Factor it into costs though as it adds up!!

He is crated when we're not there, and at night, and has been a total joy.

...... for you, I wonder what the dog thinks?
Personally I'd say keeping a dog in a crate for 13 hours a day is just not right - sorry. Our working cockers would go nuts in the same situation, they like a sleep but being confined to a cage is bad.

If you work a puppy is out of the question really. They need a lot of care for the first few months. Socialising and training and they get very nibbly chewy which your little one won't enjoy. I would look at a greyhound, an ex racer. They are used to very long periods in kennels and whatever you can offer them will be like heaven. They will sleep all day and are very placid animals. Not very good for following you on the trails though. We would still have our rescue greyhound if he hadn't of removed half of the cats tail in the garden one day.

Bit crap for the dog being left alone for the whole day 5 days a week. They are living, breathing animals not really detailed fluffy toys.
The longest our dog gets left on his own for is 3 hours, rarely even that. If we are going to be out for longer he has a dog walker/sitter.
Even though webcam evidence shows that his principle activity in our absence is sleeping in as many bits of the house possible, which looks like he's relaxed dogs use sleep as a sort of 'standby mode'. Might seem to be chilling but in reality just waiting for someone to return.
I wouldn't countenance having a pet dog if he didn't have the company of my wife or I for much of his time.
I'm sure working dogs are different in some cases but a pet is not a tool, it's a member of the family...

Don't waist your time with dogs trust. Unless you are there 25 hrs a day have no small kids and have extensive experience with problem dogs and several acres of fenced of land you won't meet there selection criteria. Its far better to leave the dogs for a few hrs a day and have a loving home with walks in the morning , night and weekend than in a kennel for hrs and hrs in some plush rehoming centre.

Before we bought our dog 5 & 1/2 years ago, my first call was Dogs Trust. At the time, I ran a paintball and airsoft business, the dog would be with me at work for the majority of the time. Main office in a. Napoleonic fort with 3 acres of grassy grounds that the dog was able to have the run of, being a fort it had totally secure boundaries. Other main sites were 14 acres of woodland and 500 acres of mixed woodland/scrubland. We were turned down because the place I lived at the time, 2 min walk from the seafront at Portchester castle, a popular dog walking area with big fields and a beach for doggy paddling, had too small an outside area for the dog.
Reilly seems to have coped just fine with the whole arrangement, shame I couldn't have given the same home to a rescue dog...